DANA POINT : Teacher Pleads Not Guilty in Sex Case
A Dana Hills High School teacher pleaded not guilty Monday in Inyo County to a charge that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old female student during a science field trip last October.
Michael W. Gaskins, 43, entered the plea during his arraignment in Inyo County Justice Court. The court set Feb. 4 as the date for a settlement conference, a routine procedure during which a judge determines if the issue can be adjudicated without a trial.
Gaskins is accused of intimately touching a female student during an earth science field trip to Inyo County’s Last Chance Canyon on Oct. 21.
A criminal complaint filed Nov. 16 in Inyo County Superior Court charged Gaskins with one felony count of sexual battery and one misdemeanor count of annoying a child under 18.
Gaskins was placed on compulsory leave without pay by the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees on Dec. 3. A district spokeswoman said the teacher would remain on that status pending the outcome of his case. Gaskins has been a teacher with the school district for 17 years.
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